Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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My most recent posts

Blog post themes over 20 years…

By Wes Trochlil | August 5, 2026

Blog post themes over 20 years… I’ve been writing blog posts for nearly 20 years now. WordPress tells me I’ve written over 1,200 posts. So I asked AI to analyze my 1,200+ posts and give me my top three themes. Here’s what it came up with: Data management and data quality – these posts emphasize that data management is […]

Lots of feedback is a GOOD thing!

By Wes Trochlil | July 29, 2026

Lots of feedback is a GOOD thing! A client in the middle of their AMS implementation said to me: “I’m getting a LOT of feedback from staff about what the system can and cannot do. Is that good or bad?” My response: “Feedback means they’re actually in the system and using it! That’s a good […]

Doing the reps…

By Wes Trochlil | July 22, 2026

Doing the reps… I’m helping a client with the implementation of a new AMS. During a recent call, their internal project manager said “I’m still not as familiar with the system as I’d like to be. I need to get in there more often and play around.” I responded: “That’s exactly right. I suggest you […]

Add one, remove one

By Wes Trochlil | July 15, 2026

Add one, remove one In the world of home-organizing, there’s the “one in, one out” rule. Simply put, for every new item that enters your home, one similar item must leave, helping to maintain a constant level of possessions and prevent clutter accumulation. This would be a great rule for database managers when considering adding new fields […]

Spring cleaning, all year long

By Wes Trochlil | July 8, 2026

Spring cleaning, all year long I talk frequently about “weeding the garden,” the idea that proactively managing your data, consistently, over time, is a better practice than trying to clean up the data in one big effort once every couple of years. But beyond the data itself, weeding the garden should also include making sure all […]

Older Posts

"Always on purpose."

March 20, 2008

I had the pleasure of speaking with Ann Hamilton of Disney a few weeks ago. During our conversation, I asked […]

And speaking of backing up your data…

March 18, 2008

Yet another reason you want to be sure your backups are working… Disgruntled Employee Deletes Company's Files   (Hat tip, […]

Business Intelligence Survey Results

March 13, 2008

I recently conducted an unscientific survey of association executives, asking them what their plans are for business intelligence. Of the […]

User Adoption is a Problem Everywhere

March 11, 2008

Listening to a podcast from Voices of CRM recently, I was not surprised to learn that the number one problem […]

Learning New Systems Take Time

March 6, 2008

Just a few weeks ago, after more than 20 years as a PC user, I switched to Mac. I'd like […]

"Where is that data?"

March 4, 2008

Those who know me know I'm a huge advocate of centralized data management systems. By that I mean a database […]

"Why don't you just tell me which system to buy?"

February 28, 2008

Clients will sometimes say to me: "Can't you just tell me what the best association management system is so that […]

Establishing Priorities

February 26, 2008

When converting to a new data management system, you are faced with many decisions regarding priorities. There is so much […]

Not every decision made will be correct

February 21, 2008

When working with associations on implementation of their databases, there are points throughout the process where we will have to […]

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